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Mickey's Letter and Yen Sid

New member

In at the end of Re:coded, Mickey writes his letter to Sora about the hurt and yada yada. BUT then the first secret ending of the game (or the only secret ending, depending on if you are playing coded on DS or PS3) shows Yen Sid telling Mickey to summon Sora (and Riku too) for the Mark of Mastery.

This confused me a great deal. I know what the letter says, but it seems plot wise, the impetus to contact Sora again is to fight against Xehanort. Stopping the hurt is a nice idea, but that's not a very concrete goal, nor does Mickey place any instructions in the letter on what to do next. Is it kinda assumed for Sora that he has to go to see Mickey (or Yen Sid)?

Also, is his reason to go off on a new adventure to end the hurt or stop Xehanort? I guess you can make the argument that they are one and the same, but it feels like the writers are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. Like, as I've said, there was no mention of Xehanort re-constituting in the letter.

And another thing, the scene on Destiny Island in Blank Points in BbS assumingly takes place after they read the letter. But the dialogue makes it seems like it is Sora's decision and choice, Riku asking him "your mind's made up?" BUT the real reason they end up going is because of Xehanort, and Yen Sid said to summon Riku as well. So why is Riku talking as if it is Sora's problem and choice?

I think it is clear that the letter has NOTHING to do with the real reason KH3D happens; stopping the hurt is nice, but the more concrete objective is stop the reconstituted Xehanort. So, maybe Mickey sent his letter to prematurely? Because five seconds there was ANOTHER reason for Sora to come out of retirement, so to speak. I understand the Yen Sid secret ending thing was added later, but it feels like a confusing and misleading plot point. Why send the letter at this point? That question is directed less at Mickey and more at the writers.

If there is anyone who can clear up this confusion, that would be super.

KHI Site Staff

Something to keep in mind is that when BBS and coded were first being developed, 3D was not on the radar and was thought up and developed relatively quickly. (two years)

So, they needed to add a more dire reason for Sora and Riku to unlock powers in the Mark of Mastery. The goals feed into each other, but for each character their main objective is different. Sora wants to help those hurting, Riku wants to be tested to redeem himself and be powerful enough to finish Xehanort, Mickey wants to save his friends, and Yen Sid wants to gather the Guardians of Light to stop Xehanort.

So, in short: originally Sora's goal to save the hurt protagonist of the side games was the focus of his motivation for III, and still is, but in order for a game between the chapters of the saga setting up III to be made another objective had to be created to give Sora and Riku more to do without taking from III's plot.

press △ to sora

Mickey writes the letter (Sora's goal is to save the people) -> Sora reads the letter decides to help -> Yen Sid reveals that Xehanort will return and knows that the group is both outnumbered and not powerful enough, so he believes they need to do the Mark of Mastery -> Upon being summoned, Yen Sid explains that Xehanort is a threat again, that in order to defeat him they will need the people Mickey spoke of in his letter, and the way to get them back is by gaining power from the RoS and through this they will also become Masters.

Basically, all of the threads tied together, rather conveniently. Stopping the hurt and saving the people is important to Sora because he's Sora, but they're also needed to defeat Xehanort, which is the new present threat. So it all works together.

Yes, KH3D is when he first learns about Master Xehanort. It was the primary reason that Yen Sid had Mickey call Sora and Riku. They only knew about Xehanort's Heartless/Ansem: SoD, Xemnas, and Apprentice Xehanort.

Mickey and Yen Sid kept everything about Master Xehanort secret until it was obvious he would be a threat again.

Guardian of Light

One aspect that hasn't yet brought up but which is also important to consider is that despite working together Mickey and Yen Sid still have different knowledge levels which is even shown in the Re: Coded scene itself.

Mickey wrote the letter about the hurting people and that being Sora's primary task before he met with Yen Sid and at first the topic is solely about saving the hurting people as they debate about the possible whereabouts of Ventus' heart and that they still have no clue about Terra.
It's when Yen Sid says the following:

that the topic shifts and Mickey's wonder and otherwise reaction show that as far as the King was concerned, the threat of Xehanort was over and done away with after both Ansem SoD and Xemnas were destroyed.
He didn't have anything regarding Xehanort on his radar until Yen Sid brought the topic up.

Re: Coded said:

Mickey: Xehanort? But his two halves are gone. There was Ansem, who commanded the Heartless, and Xemnas, who commanded the Nobodies. Didn't Sora defeat them both?

Yen Sid: Correct, those two met their end. However, therein lies exactly our problem. Their destruction now guarantees the original Xehanort's reconstruction.

Therefore the only confusion can possibly come from mixing up things that should not be mixed in the first place.
It is not even bad writing or "ambiguity" in play here at all as the sequence of events and dialogue pretty much outright state that the two issues are separate.
Mickey's letter was only about the hurting people because that was the only task the King himself knew about since he learned the Xehanort bit later when the letter was already sent.
Yen Sid ordering to summon Sora and Riku for the Mark of Mastery exam has in the first instance nothing to to with either the letter or the hurting people.

It is then decided in DDD to combine the two tasks by having Sora & Riku do their exam by gaining the power to help the hurting people alongside the other assets needed to properly face Xehanort.
Yen Sid even outright states that the MoM as shown in DDD is nothing like how the exam is usually done at all.